Many organizations connect their computers to internal and external networks, including the Internet. Through such connections, these organizations enable users to easily share data, but also expose their systems and their data to various threats, including viruses and hackers. To combat threats of viruses and hackers, these organizations often use a combination of desktop virus scanning software and hardware firewalls. Typically, virus scanning software is accessible and run in the context of an operating system on a local computing device. As such, this software can become compromised in many ways, such as by being disabled by a savvy user, corrupted by a software defect, etc. Hardware-based firewalls, on the other hand, are typically very specialized and expensive devices that are situated between two networks, such as between a corporate internal network and the Internet. As such, communications within an organization often bypass hardware-based firewalls. As many organizations are increasingly relying on computer systems to handle their confidential data, protecting their data is becoming increasingly important.
While organizations typically attempt to protect their data from viruses and hackers, many organizations are now also attempting to protect their confidential data from certain internal threats, such as an unauthorized data transfer. For example, a user may accidentally email confidential data to an unintended recipient, or a disgruntled employee may intentionally disclose confidential data to an outsider. Many organizations may desire tools to manage such unauthorized data transfers, including tools that enable the organization to detect, monitor, and prevent the disclosure of confidential data.